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'Trimming the squad'

Apparently reducing the size of the squad was a critical action that we had to take in January so RH would have a smaller pool of players to focus on. But is there a reason you can't just send players who aren't in contention to train with the reserve/U23 squad? Do players now have it written into their contracts that they can't be demoted like that? It would seem a more judicious course of action when your main striker is highly injury prone and your now first-choice right back is a teenager.

(Obviously this doesn't address our (apparent) need to save on a few months of wages, but that's not the line the club took in January anyway).

it was a cost cutting exercise. Maybe in the hope we could get a couple of targets on the cheap.
but essentially, a cost cutting exercise with some well placed articles from the club, hyping up young players who are just not that good at the moment.

it was a cost cutting exercise. Maybe in the hope we could get a couple of targets on the cheap.
but essentially, a cost cutting exercise with some well placed articles from the club, hyping up young players who are just not that good at the moment.

as per, many saints fans lapped it up

Yep, agree with that.

Its surprising how many seem to think that we are going to go on some kind of spending spree in the summer (if we stay up) without selling anymore players. The club have already suggested Hojbjerg will be sold by saying several top clubs have been looking at him.

it was a cost cutting exercise. Maybe in the hope we could get a couple of targets on the cheap.
but essentially, a cost cutting exercise with some well placed articles from the club, hyping up young players who are just not that good at the moment.

as per, many saints fans lapped it up

Good practice though if we go down. This will seem like a snip compared to the cost cutting required for the Championship.

So the idea that disgruntled senior players causing problems in the camp because they aren’t getting regular games so being shipped out to help restore morale doesn’t wash? Yet only a couple of days ago it was seen as the reason why things had changed and why we were unbeaten this year? One poor result and the world falls in and we are back to where we were. We weren’t the worst club in the world before Christmas, we weren’t last week and we aren’t now. But there is clearly a lot of work to be done in terms of the playing strength and that has only just started. What happens in the summer will obviously depend on which division we are in but we can depend on one thing at least, the whinging will continue here.

So the idea that disgruntled senior players causing problems in the camp because they arenít getting regular games so being shipped out to help restore morale doesnít wash? Yet only a couple of days ago it was seen as the reason why things had changed and why we were unbeaten this year? One poor result and the world falls in and we are back to where we were. We werenít the worst club in the world before Christmas, we werenít last week and we arenít now. But there is clearly a lot of work to be done in terms of the playing strength and that has only just started. What happens in the summer will obviously depend on which division we are in but we can depend on one thing at least, the whinging will continue here.

It's not one poor result, it's three. 2 points from those three games is pathetic.

Apparently reducing the size of the squad was a critical action that we had to take in January so RH would have a smaller pool of players to focus on. But is there a reason you can't just send players who aren't in contention to train with the reserve/U23 squad? Do players now have it written into their contracts that they can't be demoted like that? It would seem a more judicious course of action when your main striker is highly injury prone and your now first-choice right back is a teenager.

(Obviously this doesn't address our (apparent) need to save on a few months of wages, but that's not the line the club took in January anyway).

What manager in his right mind would not want less players in his squad? Too many players is only going to interfere with the manager's ability to focus properly on the players he has in his squad and his ability to work which players are **** and which are good. It's obvious and it's why we are always hearing top managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp moaning in post match interviews about how their squads are too big and that they wish that they had less player's to choose from.

What manager in his right mind would not want less players in his squad? Too many players is only going to interfere with the manager's ability to focus properly on the players he has in his squad and his ability to work which players are **** and which are good. It's obvious and it's why we are always hearing top managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp moaning in post match interviews about how their squads are too big and that they wish that they had less player's to choose from.

Too right. How often do we hear managers saying how they are just two or three sales away from the squad they need, or that if they can definitely sell this player it would be the last piece of jigsaw.

Too right. How often do we hear managers saying how they are just two or three sales away from the squad they need, or that if they can definitely sell this player it would be the last piece of jigsaw.

Like paying agents fees, we are also the only club that must shift deadwood before being able to sign anyone

Too right. How often do we hear managers saying how they are just two or three sales away from the squad they need, or that if they can definitely sell this player it would be the last piece of jigsaw.

...

Last edited by stknowle; 10-02-2019 at 08:05 PM.
Reason: poorly thought out

The activity of the club in the January transfer window just looked like the actions of a club who have one eye on The Championship. Cut costs, get the kids used to first team football ready for next season. :-(

The activity of the club in the January transfer window just looked like the actions of a club who have one eye on The Championship. Cut costs, get the kids used to first team football ready for next season. :-(

Which would have been utterly ridiculous bearing on mind we were 16th off the back of a few decent results...

The activity of the club in the January transfer window just looked like the actions of a club who have one eye on The Championship. Cut costs, get the kids used to first team football ready for next season. :-(

Just looked like getting some money in by selling anyone who was sollicited elsewhere to me.

The activity of the club in the January transfer window just looked like the actions of a club who have one eye on The Championship. Cut costs, get the kids used to first team football ready for next season. :-(

Playing kids in the Championship will mean League One football the year after

The activity of the club in the January transfer window just looked like the actions of a club who have one eye on The Championship. Cut costs, get the kids used to first team football ready for next season. :-(

Sacking Hughes shows they are terrified of going down. The January transfer window showed their arrogance/stupidity that we'd survive with Ralph, and could afford to not only not strengthen a poor squad, but actually weaken it further.